October 8 – The Financial Times reports that HM Revenue & Customs opened an investigation eight years ago into whether Manchester City were underpaying tax, which began after a leak of internal emails from German publication Der Spiegel.
The investigation was carried out under a Code of Practice 8 (COP8), a civil investigation where a person or company is suspected of using complex structures to evade tax.
Last month, the English Premier League confirmed that Manchester City had been found guilty of breaching the league’s financial rules on an industrial scale. The City artificially inflated its finances by more than £900m between 2009 and 2018 through “sham” trade deals.
Last week, Dame Meg Hillier MP, chair of the UK Treasury select committee, wrote to John-Paul Marks, HMRC’s permanent secretary, seeking reassurance that the department is “appreciated by the importance” of the case.
The letter asked: “Can you confirm to the Committee that HMRC are aware of these findings (pending appeal)? Have you requested and/or received the unredacted version of this report?”
The club maintains its innocence and has appealed the decision. In a statement, City said: “The club is innocent of the allegations made by the Premier League and there is an extensive body of irrefutable evidence to support all of its positions in relation to this case.”
The scandal has sent shockwaves through English and European football. At the same time, world football is still navigating the fallout from Gianni Infantino’s plans to sell the World Cup.
Contact the writer of this story, Samindra Kunti, at (email protected)
